TTB: Bond requirement for small craft breweries will be eliminated

Bond. Small brewery bond exemption. Licensed to brew.

Good news for you small craft brewers out there: Starting Jan. 1, 2017, if you are a TTB-permitted entity owing less than $50,000 in excise taxes in the previous year and expect to owe less than $50,000 in the current year on beer, distilled spirits or wine, you will no longer be required to hold a bond.

Hold up real quick though!

Because the bond exemption does not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2017, if you submit applications to operate breweries/brewpubs, distilled spirits plants or wineries before that date, you must submit a bond with the application even if you expect to be eligible for the bond exemption when it goes into effect in 2017. Based on current processing times, the TTB does not expect any application received before Jan. 1, 2017, to be processed before that date.

Streamlined permitting

To streamline the application process, your pals at the TTB added a new data field in Permits Online, allowing you to indicate that you expect to owe less than $50,000 in excise taxes in 2017 and thus will be exempt from bond requirements.

If you are confirmed to be eligible for the bond exemption, the TTB will process your application so that you can operate without a bond upon approval, and it will return any bond-related materials to you when final actions on the application are taken.

Still got questions, huh?

If you applied to operate a brewery/brewpub before the new field was added to Permits Online, but your application is not processed before Jan. 1, 2017, the TTB is likely deep-sighing, but says it will work with you to determine if a bond will be required, and if not, it will return all bond-related materials to you.

Hey, here’s some other TTB news from earlier in the week. You know you love it.